DUNDALK,
a sea-port, borough, market and post­town, and parish, in the barony of
UPPER DUNDALK, county of LOUTH, and province of LEINSTER, 10¼ miles (S.)
from Newry, and 40 miles (N. by W.) from Dublin, on the mail road to
Belfast; containing 14,300 inhabitants, of which number, 10,078 are in the
borough and liberties. The earliest historical notice of this place occurs
in 1180, when John de Courcey with 1000 men, marching against a prince of
Argial who had destroyed one of his ships, was encountered by the native
chiefs with a force of 7000 men, by whom he was defeated with the loss of
400 of his troops. The English power being soon afterwards firmly
established, Dundalk with some other territories was granted to Bertram de
Verdon, who founded here a priory for Crouched Friars of the Augustine
order, which afterwards became an hospital; and in the reign of Hen. III,
Lord John de Verdon founded a Franciscan friary in the town. In 1315, Edward
Bruce took possession of the town and caused himself to be proclaimed King
of Ireland. He maintained his assumed dignity here for nearly a whole year;
but being attacked by John de Birmingham, his army was totally defeated and
himself slain. Sometime after, O'Hanlon, an Irish chieftain, came with a
large force to demand tribute from the inhabitants, by whom he was so
vigorously repulsed that 200 of his men were left dead upon the field. In
1338, Theobald de Verdon obtained a grant of a market and fair for 15 days.
Rich. II confirmed by charter all the privileges the inhabitants had
previously enjoyed, and made the town a free borough; and Hen. IV. granted
the bailiffs and commonalty certain customs, to surround their town with
walls, which, from its exposed situation on the north of the English pale,
were necessary for its protection. In 1558, the Lord-Deputy Sidney appointed
an interview with the powerful chieftain Shane O'Nial, who at last agreed to
come to him here on condition of being received as his "gossip;" The town
was, in 1560, besieged by the O'Nials, but was so valiantly defended that
they abandoned the design. A subsequent attempt was made with no better
success; and in 1562, the Earl of Sussex, lord-deputy, sent some forces to
the assistance of the townsmen, between whom and Shane O'Nial a mutual
restitution of plunder took place. So great was the power of the native
chieftains in 1596, that in a conference held at Faughart it was proposed by
the English government to make this town the frontier of their dominions in
Ireland; but all overtures for a pacification were rejected. On the breaking
out of the war in 1641, Roger Moore and Brian Mac Mahon posted themselves
near this town, of which they held possession, with a force of 2500 men, and
bade defiance to the Irish government; but Sir Henry Tichborne assaulted
and, after an obstinate resistance, succeeded in gaining possession of the
town. Col. Monk, who had been appointed governor, was, in 1649, compelled by
Lord Inchiquin to surrender it to Cromwell. In the war of the revolution,
some forces of Jas. II., which had been stationed in the town, abandoned it
on the approach of William's army commanded by Duke Schomberg, who encamped
his forces on some low marshy ground, about a mile to the north, where they
suffered much from disease. James detached a party to seize the pass at
Newry, which, on the first appearance of opposition, retired to Sligo. He
soon after advanced at the head of the Irish army and drew up in order of
battle, but just at the moment when an engagement was expected, drew off
his troops and retired to Ardee.

The town is situated on the south side of
the Castletown river, which suddenly expands as it opens into the bay of
Dundalk; and consists of two principal streets, each about a mile in length,
intersecting each other in the market-square, and of several smaller
streets. The number of houses, in 1831, was 1851, of which many are well
built. The streets are paved, and the town is watched and lighted with gas,
under the provisions of an act of the 9th of Geo. IV., cap. 82,
by which it was assessed, in 1836, to the amount of £696. 8. 11. The
southern entrance has been greatly improved by the recent erection of some
handsome houses. At the northern extremity is a bridge over the Castletown
river, connecting it with a small suburb on the opposite side. At the eastern extremity,
near the bay, is a spacious cavalry barrack; and along the borders of the
river are some lands called the town parks. A literary society has been
established, and there are two subscription news-rooms, and a good
assembly-room; a hunt is supported, and races are occasionally held on a
course near the town. There is a very extensive distillery, employing about
100 men, consuming from 35,000 to 40,000 barrels of grain, and producing
more than 300,000 gallons of whiskey annually, which is mostly for home
consumption and of superior quality; there are four tan yards, two
salt-works, a large malting concern, and a very extensive iron foundry and
forge. The chief trade is in agricultural produce, which is shipped in great
quantities to Liverpool and other British ports; its foreign trade is not
inconsiderable. The exports are grain of all kinds, flour, meal, malt,
butter, cattle, sheep, pigs, barrelled provisions, linen, and flax; the
imports are coal, bark, soap, oil, tallow, hemp, grocery, rock-salt, and
iron from British ports, and timber, tallow, wine, and bark from foreign
ports. Since the introduction of steam navigation great quantities of eggs
and poultry have been exported. The amount of duties paid at the
Custom-house, for 1835, was £3618. 4. 10., and for 1836, £4514. 5. 10.; the
excise duties paid for the district, in 1835, amounted to £112,189. 18. 7½.
Two steam-packets of the first class are constantly employed between this
port and Liverpool; the passage on the average is made in 16 or 17 hours.
The harbour is formed by the innermost recesses of the bay, which is seven
miles across at its mouth from Dunany Point to Cooley Point, and extends
nearly the same distance to the town. It is very safe, and the bay affords
good anchorage in from four to eight fathoms of water. There are some good
bathing-places along the shore, particularly at the village of Blackrock.
Two mails from the north and south of Ireland pass daily through the town.
The market is on Monday; and fairs are held on the Monday next but one
before Ash-Wednesday, May 17th, the first Monday in July, the
last Monday in August, and the second Mondays in October and December; but
the May fair is the only one of importance. At Soldiers' Point, about a mile
and a half below the town, is a coast-guard station, the head of the
district of Dundalk, and the residence of the inspecting commander; the
district contains also the stations of Greenore, O'Meath, Cooley Point,
Dunany Point, and Clogher Head.

Since the confirmation of its privileges by
Rich. II., the town has received various charters from succeeding
sovereigns; it is now governed by that of Chas. II under which the
corporation consists of a bailiff, burgesses, and an indefinite number of
freemen, assisted by a recorder, town-clerk, two town-serjeants, and other
officers. The bailiff, who is also a justice of the peace, is annually
elected from the burgesses by a majority of that body, and with their
consent may appoint a deputy to serve the office. The burgesses, as
vacancies occur are chosen from the freemen, and the freemen are elected by
the corporation; the recorder and town-clerk are chosen by the corporation,
and the town-serjeants by the bailiff. The borough first returned members to
parliament in 1374, and continued to send two to the Irish parliament till
the Union, since which period it has returned one member to the Imperial
parliament. The right of election, previously limited to the corporation,
was by the 2nd of Wm. IV., cap. 88, vested in the resident freemen and £10
householders; the number of registered voters at the last general election
was 376 ; the bailiff is the returning officer. A new boundary has been
drawn round the town, comprising an area of 445 statute acres, the limits of
which are minutely described in the Appendix. The borough court of record,
formerly held before the bailiff and recorder, has not issued any process
since 1779, and may be regarded as extinct. Petty sessions are held before
the bailiff daily, and by the county magistrates every Thursday. The
guild-hall, which, together with nearly all the land on which the town is
built, belongs to Lord Roden, is a neat edifice of brick, situated in the
market square and containing an assembly-room, a news-room. offices for the
savings' bank, an office for the sub-inspector of police, and other
apartments for the transaction of municipal business and for holding public
meetings. A chief constabulary police station has been established in the
town, which is the residence of the sub-inspector for the county, and the
head-quarters of the police force. The assizes for the county are held here,
and the quarter sessions for the Dundalk division twice in the year. The
court-house is a handsome modern edifice of hewn stone, with a very fine
portico, after the model of that of the temple of Theseus at Athens; it is
situated in the centre of the town, contains two spacious and well-arranged
courts, with every requisite accommodation for the grand jury and public
officers, and has a communication in the rear with the county gaol, which
was erected in 1820, and is well adapted to the classification of prisoners,
who are employed in breaking stones and working at their different trades;
it contains a chapel, a school, and an hospital, and is kept under proper
regulations; there is a treadmill, which distributes water to every part of
the prison.

The parish comprises, according to the
Ordnance survey, 6202 statute acres, of which 25¾ are part of Castletown
river; the soil is fertile and the land in a good state of cultivation. To
the west of the town is Dundalk House, the seat of the Earl of Roden, an
ancient mansion situated in a well-cultivated and richly planted demesne,
comprising 214 Irish acres; his lordship has it in contemplation to erect a
house in a more eligible situation immediately adjoining. Fair Hill, the
handsome residence of Mrs. Foster, and Lisnawilly, of Mrs. Tipping, are also
in the parish. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of Armagh,
episcopally united to the rectory and vicarage of Castletown, forming the
union of Dundalk, in the patronage of the Lord-Primate and the Earl of
Roden, who is impropriator of the rectory. The tithes amount to £527. 9.
10., payable to the impropriator, who allows the incumbent £16, in lieu of
the vicarial tithes; the tithes of the union, payable to the incumbent,
amount to £216. 6. 5¼. The glebe-house was built in 1773; the glebe
comprises 19½ acres. The church is a spacious and, internally, elegant
cruciform structure, with a double transept; it has been frequently enlarged
and improved at a very considerable expense. In the R.C. divisions the
parish is the head of a union or district, comprising the parishes of
Dundalk, Castletown, and Kene; a handsome chapel of hewn granite is now in
progress of erection in the town, and there is also a chapel near Killen, in
the parish of Kene. There is a meeting-house for Presbyterians in connection
with the Synod of Ulster, of the third class; also places of worship for
Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, and Independents. Nearly 600 children
are educated in the public schools of the parish: of these, the principal
are the endowed classical school, to which the sons of freemen are eligible
on payment of £2. 2. per ann.; the Dundalk institution, under the patronage
of the Incorporated Society, in which 30 boys are received on the
foundation free of all expense, 50 boarders at £12 and 20 day scholars at
£1. 10. per ann.; and all are instructed in this excellent institution in
every branch of useful education, except the classics; and a school on
Erasmus Smith's foundation, comprehending departments for infants, for
general education, and for needlework. The building cost upwards of £1700,
of which £150 was given by the trustees of E. Smith's charities, who also
pay the master and mistress £30 per annum each; the other expenses are
defrayed by charity sermons and subscriptions. There are two others, of
which one for girls is supported by Mrs. Tipping. There are also 15 private
schools, affording instruction to about 500 children. The Louth Infirmary,
or County hospital, with which is connected a dispensary, was built by
subscription in 1835, on ground given by the Earl of Roden at a nominal
rent; it is a handsome structure, in the later English style, erected at an
expense of £3000, and comprising three wards for male, and three for female
patients, with hot and cold baths, convalescent galleries for patients (of
whom it is capable of containing forty), and every accommodation for the
officers and attendants; about 4000 patients receive advice and medicine
annually. The Fever Hospital, a large building, formerly the charter school,
is now a pin-factory, in which 300 children, selected from the two great
schools for the poor, are beneficially employed; an hour each day is
allotted for their instruction at the respective schools. A Ladies'
Benevolent Society, for selling clothing to the poor at reduced prices, is
supported by subscription; as are also the Mendicity Association, the
Destitute Sick Society, a Savings' Bank, an Association for Discountenancing
Vice, and several other charitable institutions. There are some remains of
the Franciscan friary on the east side of the town, consisting of the tower,
a lofty square pile surmounted by a slender turret commanding an extensive
prospect. After the dissolution it was granted by Hen. VIII. to James
Brandon, at a rent of sixpence per annum, and a renewal fine of £9. 10. Of
the religious establishment founded by Bertram de Verdon, there are no
remains; its revenues were granted by Elizabeth to Henry Draycot, who had
previously obtained a lease for 21 years. Near the town is a spring, arched
over with ancient massive masonry, called the Lady Well, and much resorted
to on the patron day, Sept. 29th. On the plains of Ballynahatna
are the remains of a Druidical temple partly enclosed by a curving rampart,
on the outside of which is part of a circle of upright stones; and on a
rising ground near this place is a circular fort surrounded by a double
fosse and rampart, supposed to have been thrown up by the earliest
inhabitants of the country. Dundalk formerly gave the title of Baron to the
family of Georges.